Convex Bevel sharpening

[Metod Alif]

The pressure, when produced by the same force, on the contact surface with a stone/plate is greater when the bevel is convex than when it is flat.
Sadly, this obvious (OK, probably not) fact is not mentioned by the numerous comments on convex honing, and consequently its benefits or drawbacks.

Metod

[Darren Brewster]

One question I have on this method that never found a real answer too is does this method slow down/become less efficient when you are using nice 01,A2, or the new Veritas steel chisels and thicker plane irons from the modern premium makers?

I've used it with Veritas A2 irons quite easily.

[David Weaver]

Yes, on a wide hard iron or chisel, it becomes less enjoyable. That's what my comment was regarding grinders earlier freeing up someone to be less likely to favor a tool that's softer or less abrasion resistant solely due to how quickly it can be hand ground, especially if you're doing all of your dimensioning from rough with planes..

I'm aware of only one iron that will hang with the new premium irons but be as easy to grind as the vintage irons, and that's the thin laminated irons made by tsunesaburo.

It's not that you can't sharpen hard and thick tools with this method, it just becomes immediately apparent to you that it's not nearly as easy as it is with a stock stanley iron or something of the like. The grinder provides more of an advantage and lets you work only a tiny bit of metal.

[Jim Matthews]

To be clear, I've only just begun to sharpen this way.

Every piece of steel I own was set up with a microbevel.
Sharpening this way, I will eventually convert the cutting edge to a complete convex bevel.

As it is, this method is both fast and repeatable with an even cutting angle across the surface.
The main benefit is the speed with which I can get back to a sharp edge, without an involved set up.

The secondary benefit is that the entire cutting surface will eventually be a polished "half dome" with little resistance.
It's my hope that when that is achieved, cutting will be even smoother than it is now.

I just set up an old Record spokeshave this way and the result was good.

With my chisels, the result is an obvious improvement over using a guide.

With my plane irons, the result is less clear to me - but it is fast to dress a tired blade.
That's worth making the change, in itself.

[john davey]

Interesting because he says he doesn't use them in several of his videos. Who knows how long ago he made that quote as I am sure at some time in his life he has used them.

I'm not sure paul does use only a bench chisel. Maybe he does, but I thought that he also may have just been proving the point that you don't need to wait until you can afford or find mortise chisels before you start cutting mortises.

When the whole argument came out before about using a fence post vs. using a blue chip, it was interesting that this comment came up:

http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/s...ls_by_Ray_Iles

(see the bottom of the page, and you'll find this: "The best chisel I have ever used." - Paul Sellers )

That doesn't exactly say that he uses it, I guess.

[David Weaver]

Well, those aren't exactly a long-time offering. Perhaps he was doing a favor for Ray Iles, who knows?